Please help me plan Western shore excusions

[amandaC]

We will be on our first family cruise 2/26/05- Western. We have 2 DS- ages almost 7 and 4 1/2. I think beaches are the way to go, but if there is a "do not miss" that is for ages 6 and over, DH and I can split up with the boys if necessary.
Thank you for all your help- I've learned so much here!
Amanda

 

[MImom]

I too would like to know. Have heard about Paradise Beach in Cozumel and Royal Palms on 7 mile beach in Grand Cayman. But, would like to know from others who have been there, especially fairly recently.
Thanks much.

 

[MarkLem]

We cruised last January before this fall's hurricanes so don't really know what shape Grand Cayman is in, but we did a 3 hour charter boat to Stingray City. If you are into snorkeling, this is the clearest water on the whole trip. Stingray City is a sandbar way out, waist deep water. You get out and wade in the water and they feed the Stingrays which hang out there by the 10's or even hundreds.

Also on Cozumel we did the Dolphin excursion which are kids loved (8,6,2 1/2 at the time). There is also a beach there which we stayed at for a couple hours afterward.

 

[MImom]

Thanks. Did you book the Dolphin excursion through Disney or on your own?
Did you book before the cruise? If so,I'd better getting going

 

[Masonpips]

You have to do the stingray excursion - it is a *not to be missed* experience and my kids (then age 3 & 5) LOVED it. We are going again next week (~giggle~, that's so fun to say!) and have used Captain Marvins both times.

 

[MarkLem]

Thanks. Did you book the Dolphin excursion through Disney or on your own?
Did you book before the cruise? If so,I'd better getting going

We booked the Dolphin Excursion through Disney (it was the only excursion we booked with them). I would recommend booking well ahead of the cruise as some of the excursions are popular. I called Chankannab (sp?) Park to book for the day we were going to be there, and they had no openings (apparently they reserve out a bunch a spots for Disney) so we had to go through Disney. It worked out great. Two reason we try to book on our own: 1) avoid the big crowds that you are in when going on a Disney excursion, and 2) costs are usually cheaper on your own.

We also used Captain Marvin for the Stingray City trip in GC.

 

[jfis1020]

Stingray City is a DO NOT MISS! (my two ds were 9 and 6 at the time). My DS absolutely loved it!

We did the Playa de Sol beach at Cozumel and loved it as well.

 

[gdulaney]

For Grand Cayman, I'd agree with the other folks...try not to miss the chance to swim with the stingrays.

For Cozumel...if your family is a little athletic and enjoys nature, you might enjoy the kayak adventure. We did it (just me and hubby) and had a great time. Take bug stuff (like Skin So Soft).

Have a great time!
Ginny

 

[MImom]

How strong of a swimmer do you have to be for Stingray City? Do you have to be able to snorkel? DNephew, 7yo, is not a good swimmer. Would he still be able to do Stingray City? Thanks for the info.

 

[gdulaney]

They give you a life jacket...so depending on his comfort level in the water, he should be okay. I swim like lead, but I had a great time.

Ginny

 

[jfis1020]

How strong of a swimmer do you have to be for Stingray City? Do you have to be able to snorkel? DNephew, 7yo, is not a good swimmer. Would he still be able to do Stingray City? Thanks for the info.

DS6 (at the time) was not a strong swimmer. He watched for quite some time before entering, but did fine. While he had on a lifejacket, he held on to me most of the time. I was not concerned at all. He STILL talks about it almost two years later. DO NOT MISS THIS ATTRACTION!

 

[MImom]

Thanks for the help. I feel more confident now that he could do this.
On the Stingray City excursion, is there a beach nearby? Or more clearly - What are your favorite beaches in Grand Cayman? If we do Stingray City in the am is there still time to hang out at a beach?
How do you get there? taxi?

 

[jfis1020]

Thanks for the help. I feel more confident now that he could do this.
On the Stingray City excursion, is there a beach nearby? Or more clearly - What are your favorite beaches in Grand Cayman? If we do Stingray City in the am is there still time to hang out at a beach?
How do you get there? taxi?

Many people have done excusions through reputable companies on the island. I, for one, like the "comfort" of Disney. I booked through them and paid a little more knowing that if any problems arised that THEY would take care of it.

Stingray City is in the middle of the ocean!!! You look around you and see little if any land in sight (I can't remember seeing land from there). It's quite amazing, kind of like an island that never became one!

When we returned to the ship, DH and I went ashore, but just to look around town. I know a lot of people love GC, but outside of Stingray City, I didn't see anything exciting. Now, given that, someone else probably had a great experience somewhere else on the island! Listen to them, as I probably just missed things along the way! But, again, DON'T MISS STINGRAY CITY!

 

[MarkLem]

How strong of a swimmer do you have to be for Stingray City? Do you have to be able to snorkel? DNephew, 7yo, is not a good swimmer. Would he still be able to do Stingray City? Thanks for the info.

You don't have to be a swimmer at all! The water is waist deep. My wife got in holding my 2 1/2 year old the whole time. The only requirement is that you are not afraid to get in and stand in waist deep water or be held by someone who is standing in waistdeep water.

Now most of the charters stop at a reef before they get to Stingray City and snorkel. You can either stay on the boat during that 20 minute or so stay, or put on a life vest, grab a mask & snorkel, and float on the top. My 6 year old was only at the doggy paddle stage, but she jumped in with a mask for about 2 minutes and with my help (I am a good swimmer) looked around. My 8 year old loved it (she had swam on the summer swim team so was a bit of a swimmer). The biggest problem is that she didn't like the taste of the salt water in her mouth!

 

[njdrumrun]

Thanks. Did you book the Dolphin excursion through Disney or on your own?
Did you book before the cruise? If so,I'd better getting going

i had booked dolphin discovery but someone said that their tall 11 y.o. swimmer had a hard time as the water was not waist deep and was rough. i guess it depends on the tide and the seas. mine is only 6 y.o. so we changed. i'd rather wait for another cruise than be dissappointed in the excursion.

 

[DenverVal]

With all that said, my two DDs, ages 11 and 8, were completely freaked out by the stingrays and decided to watch from the boat. I handed them cameras, and so we have photos of DH and me holding stingrays that I otherwise wouldn't have. The water is very shallow, and swimming was not necessary even for DD8 (for the few minutes she was in the water). Don't bother messing with the mask and snorkel, just take a set of swim goggles and hold your breath. We took the Rum Point Beach/Stingray excursion through Disney and it would be great for young kids. The water is very shallow and protected and there are fish to see with the snorkel equipment (or swim goggles ). You want to get a seat before going to see the rays though, or you won't get a chair at all. In that case, have a beach towel handy. We weren't able to any other sightseeing due to the length of time this excursion took.

We took the Atlantis submarine excursion in Cozumel and that was a good experience too, though my camera obnoxiously refused to focus on anything but the glass window. Make sure you know how to switch it to manual focus or to be able to turn the autofocus OFF!!

DD8 says that she really enjoyed the glass bottomed boat tour in Key West, though DH was not as thrilled. She says she saw turtles, stingrays, "long fishes" and colorful fish.

 

[MImom]

Thanks for all the helpful hints.
Sounds like we should definately go to Stingray City.
Keep the ideas/beaches coming.

 

[TheWog]

Thought for Cozumel is cozumelhomes.com. It is a dune buggy excursion to do snorkeling and beach day. They provide lunch and a cooler full of refreshments for each buggie. I have not done it, but have heard great things about it.

 

[rae519]

If you want a real treat, try horseback riding on the beach with Nicki! You can reach her at nickiride@candw.ky

My son was 7 when he and I took this wonderful, relaxing, entertaining and informative ride with Nicki who is a Grand Cayman native. She picked us up at the Hard Rock Cafe on GC Island, and even made a grocery stop with us to get drinks! She was a wonderful person to ride with and her horses are top notch (we own horses and are quite particular when it comes to their appearance) - anyway, she is delightful to ride with and we had such a wonderful time with her.

I have other ways to contact her but she does reply to her email and she books fast and frequently, so call soon if you are interested.

Rae

 

[lbgraves]

You may need to wait until we hear back from people on the January cruises for word on Grand Cayman. On our 12/4 cruise it was still pretty messed up from the hurricanes & the servers were not recommending going to the beaches at all. If you look out over the island from deck 10 you will see alot of destruction.